San Pedro Sun reporter Dion Vansen is currently in Port of Spain, the capital city of Trinidad and Tobago, participating in a workshop on using digital tools for investigative reporting. The activity runs from June 9th to the 11th and is organized by the International Center for Journalists (ICFJ) and CONNECTAS. This non-profit journalistic initiative promotes the production, exchange, training, and dissemination of information on critical issues for the development of the Americas.
The program selected and provided this scholarship to journalists from Suriname, Grenada, The Bahamas, Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, St. Kitts and Nevis, Antigua and Barbuda, Grenada, and the Dominican Republic; Dion Vansen is the only Belizean journalist selected to be part of this training. The session is at the Kapok Hotel, where the journalists are accommodated. Vansen is grateful for the opportunity to learn more about investigative reporting. “This opportunity will enrich my journalism abilities and broaden my network while learning new skills I could share with those around me,” said Vansen. The workshop has a packed agenda with a handful of dynamic presenters from the United States of America, Argentina, and Colombia.
ICFJ and CONNECTAS indicated that they promote using methodologies in in-depth journalistic work. In this workshop, they aim to guide journalists in using multimedia tools in high-impact stories and share safety techniques to benefit Caribbean journalists. The training also seeks to provide practical tools that would allow regional journalists to improve their day-to-day work.
As a regional journalistic platform, CONNECTAS understands that collaborative research is one of journalism’s challenges. A fundamental part of the success in addressing the hurdles depends on building trust and generosity among team members and the members of the work teams in the Caribbean region.
The workshop ends at midday on Saturday. Some of the final sessions will be about using social media for storytelling, audience engagement, and how to plan a multimedia story on topics of public interest.
